If our diet were a bank account, good food would equal to good investments. And Sridevi Jasti, then, would be called a passionate banker, always eager to help people make the best choices. Founder and Chief Nutritionist, Vibrant Living Foods, Sridevi loves to inspire others to make positive changes to their lifestyle. Myriad food experiences and her roots have led her to specialise in crafting healthy food and generating holistic lifestyles for people.

“I firmly believe one can become healthier by adopting a life-changing and mindful shift towards a holistic lifestyle. This conviction led me to found Vibrant Living, a company that produces organic and healthy, high-value organic foods. These eclectic offerings are also vegan and gluten-free that have earned the love and following of true-blue Hyderabadis,” says Sridevi, who got married into an entrepreneurial family.

Sharing that she grew up with agricultural scientists, farmers and amazing cooks in the family who were extremely passionate about what they did, she adds, “My father worked as an engineer at an agricultural university and my grandfathers are passionate farmers.” Sridevi has studied nutrition at both bachelors and masters levels along with attending and speaking at many food and nutrition seminars in the country.

The business of food

About her entrepreneurial journey, she says, “While the journey of establishing the business and creating a brand has been a roller-coaster ride, the fact that people were appreciating the product, kept us going.”

Health and fitness are lifestyle options and people are increasingly including them in their daily routine now. Sridevi says, “People have become aware of what they eat and drink and so, there are more takers for our products. People are finally getting it. Naturally, the profile of our consumers is expanding. Millennials as well the older generation are appreciating the benefits of organic and healthy food. Growth also requires understanding and straddling new technologies. Both my husband and I continue to do a lot of research in the field of health and nutrition. It’s been wonderful growing as a person with Vibrant Living Foods.”

Even though this zealous nutritionist was born and brought up in India for the first 20 years of her life, she later spent much of her professional years abroad. And returning home for good wasn’t exactly easy initially. “Getting back to India and starting a small business presented a whole lot of challenges. I had to readjust to the culture and learn the ropes of working with the staff, the government and the market. It has been a rich learning experience, but I think I am in a position now where I can say that I am at home with this environment,” shares Sridevi.

The continuity conundrum

It’s been over seven years since Vibrant Living Foods was established. But running a business and keeping up with it is extremely hard, believes Sridevi. “There have been times when it seemed like it would be fine to just chuck it all and go back to the lush green vineyards of Tuscany or move to Florida. But all of this is forgotten when you have the smallest of successes. That makes it all worth it again,” she adds. And today, with customers from all walks of life — women and from all age groups, celebrities, housewives, businessmen, businesswomen and politicians — this entrepreneur has become more patient since setting up shop. “I know that different people have different strengths, ambitions, style of working and temperaments. You have to manage all of this well to succeed in business,” says Sridevi, who used to run a health company with her husband before starting her own venture.

Revealing that her family has been her biggest strength throughout, she says, “While money is important, and there are ways of finding it when you are convinced about the business, it is the support of the family that is extremely important. I think I could never have gotten this far without the support of my parents, husband and close relatives, who work hard with me to see me live my dream of bringing positive changes in the land where I was born and raised.”

This successful entrepreneur believes that no one is born with anything. “It is the influences around you and the opportunities you get that shape you up to become the person you become. I was fortunate to have this passion, education and timely support to venture into this business. So I think entrepreneurship is a matter of using the opportunity, timing, building a good team, chutzpah, luck and yes, a little bit of madness and a whole lot of perseverance — I really mean, a whole lot of it!”

Business USP
Providing food and drinks that are nourishing, healthy and tasty. Most people associate organic and natural foods with being less tasty, almost like what you would give someone who is recuperating from an illness. Vibrant Living is showing that this food can be delicious without processed sugar or artificial fats. Vibrant Living offers you food choices that will keep you healthy — all this while caring for the world at large.

Favourite hobbies
I love to dance and I am also passionate about animals, nature, children and the elderly.

Vibrant Foods’ first client
A few members of the film industry and women from the Apollo family.

Other passions
Outside of feeding tasty and healthy food to family and friends, yoga is my other big passion. I am not talking only of asana practice here but of a yogic lifestyle including Raja yoga, Karma yoga, Bhakti yoga, Jnana yoga, Tantra yoga, etc. I am in the process of learning about the other branches of yoga. Living naturally is also my passion, growing and ageing included. Some of the other things that interest me are natural farming, biodynamic farming, permaculture and home gardening.